Students who contributed research articles and creative works to the journal and supporters attended a luncheon to recognize The Exley. Also attending was Elizabeth Exley Hodge, a former longtime UT Dallas staff member whose contributions helped launch the new journal last spring and for whom it is named.

“The articles and creative works published in The Exley showcase the hard work and dedication of the student authors and their faculty mentors,” said Dr. Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, dean of Undergraduate Education. “I hope these works inspire other students to become engaged in research and share their creative work with our university community.”

The Exley is a showcase for undergraduate research articles, as well as creative works, such as poetry and photography.

A number of students published research articles. Anandini Sunil Rao, a biology major, penned, “Understanding the Molecular Basis of Pediatric Bone Cancer.”

“If we are to fight cancer, we must target the processes that make it so malignant. This research came down to the pure biology of cancer – what makes some cells migrate, and what makes some cells stay in the primary tumor,” Rao said.

Cara Curley, a sophomore arts and technology major, contributed to the journal with digital illustrations of dreamlike scenes she created in a game production lab. The landscape for the video game she was designing, titled “Wolfsong,” was inspired by the forests near her home in Portland, Ore.

Curley said she used a combination of unnatural shapes, glowing lines, scattered light and a wide range of color to mold the virtual environment.

“I composed all of the concept illustrations in Photoshop, and constantly battled with creating a natural, ethereal feel to the pieces within a rigid technological application,” Curley said.

In 2011, Hodge made a generous donation to support the publication of UT Dallas’ first interdisciplinary undergraduate journal. The journal was named in her honor to show the University’s appreciation.

She began work in the University's administrative offices in 1967 when the institution was called the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies.

Copies of The Exley are available at the Office of Undergraduate Education.